Circuit interrupter



Feb. 18, 1947. w. M. LEEDS CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan. 19, 1945 INVENTOR f/vrapM Leedi.

ATTORNE Patented Feb. 18, 1947 CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER Winthrop M. Leeds, VJilkinsburg, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 19, 1945, Serial No. 573,545

12 Claims.

This invention relates to circuit interrupters in general, and, more particularly, to are extinguishing structures therefor.

In United States Patent 2,253,009 which issued August 19, 1941, to Benjamin P. Baker and which was assigned to the assignee of the instant application, there is shown and described a novel circuit interrupting structure in which a piston member carrying a movable contact causes a separation thereof from a stationary contact disposed at one side of a piston chamber in which the piston member is movable. The resulting arc is drawn longitudinally of the piston member and is subjected to a longitudinal flow of liquid by the piston action of the piston member movable within the piston chamber. The lon itudinal flow of liqu d effects the extinctionof the are at an early current zero.

It is an object of my invention to adapt an interrupting structure of the foregoing type such that a plurality of inlet passages may be provided to send addit onal jets of liquid toward the arc. Instead of using one stream of liouid which becomes progressively more contaminated as it flows along the are. this improved construction brings in lean liouid at a plurality of poin s and exhausts the arc products at a plurality of intermediate points.

A general object of my invention is to provide a circuit interrup -er of improved construction which will more efiectively interrupt the circuit therethrough than circuit interrupters involving conventional structure.

Another ob ect is to provide a circuit interrupter generally of the foregoing type in which one or more inlet passa es lead toward the arc and through which is forced fluid, preferably liquid. by the piston action of the piston member. Preferably vent passages are disposedadjacent the interrupting arc to permit a ready exhausting of fluid away from said arc.

Further objects and advantages will readily become apparent upon a reading of the following specification taken in conjunction with the drawings; in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a circuit interrupter embodying my invention, the parts being shown in the full open circuit position; I

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken alongthe line II-II of Fig. 3; I Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through. a

"portion of the lower arc, extinguishing unit shown in Fig. 1, taken along the line III-III of drical member 2 to the level 3a.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, the reference numeral 1 designates a porcelain casing in which is disposed an insulating cylindrical member 2 containing a suitable arc extinguishing fluid 3, in this instance circuit breaker oil, filling the cylin- Disposed within the member 2 is an arc extinguishing assemblage generally designated by the reference numeral 4 and comprising two serially related arc extinguishing units 5. A conducting operating rod 6 is provided to actuate the contact structure within the two units 5. Preferably the upper end of the rod 6 is composed of insulating material as at 1 having the upper end thereof biased downwardly to the open circuit position by accelerating compression springs not shown. A conductor 8 has one end connected to a termina-lof the breaker, not shown, and has the other end connected to a terminal 9 of the upper unit 5, the terminal 9 being electrically connected to the stationary contact 23 (see Fig. 3) disposed within the unit 5. f

Consequently, the electrical circuit passing through the assemblage 4 comprises line terminal (not shown), conductor 8, terminal 9. stationary contact 23 of the upper unit 5, movable contact [0 movable with the piston member operating within the upper unit 5; to the stationary contact of the lower unit 5 by means, not'shown, to the movable contact III movable with the piston member H associated with the lower unit 5, and through the conducting operating rod 6 through suitable sliding contact means, not shown, to the other line terminal of the breaker. The man ner in which the electrical circuit passes through the interrupter is moreclearly described in the aforesaid patent, to which reference may be had in obtaining a. more clarified picture of the electrical connections. During. the opening operation accelerating compression springs, not shown, cause downward movement of the portion I of operating rod 6 to thereby cause downward movement of contact I and piston member II associated with each unit into the piston chamber I2 associated with each unit 5 to effect thereby a drawing of a single arc longitudinally of the piston member within each unit 5. The displacement of arc extinguishing liquid, in this case oil, by the piston II subjects the arc to a multiplicity of liquid jets as described more fully hereinafter. It will be observed that since the two units 5 are connected in a serially related manner, the two arcs drawn within the assemblage 4 are in series to obtainhigh voltage are interrupting ability. Extinction of; these. arcs will effect a breaking of the electrical circuit through the interrupter, and the operating rod 6 will continue to move in a downward direction until the piston member I I has moved to an extreme position within the piston chamber I2. Disconnect means may be provided to introduce an isolating gap into the circuit after in terruption of the arcs drawn within the assemblage 4.

To close the breaker the rod 6 is moved upwardly by suitable means, not shown, to cause an upward movement of both piston members I I associated with the units 5 to thereby eifect a reengagement between the movable contacts I!) secured to the piston members and the stationary contacts 23 disposed at one side of the piston chambers.

Referrin more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3 which show more clearly the construction of the lower arc extinguishing unit 5 of Fig. 1, it \vil1 be.

I4 are two plates I5 having a configuration more clearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. The plate I5 has an enlarged portion I5 removed therefrom. Above the top plate I5 is a plate I! having a configuration more clearly shown in Fig. 4. The plate I! has an enlarged portion 38 removed therefrom and also vent portions I8 grooved on the plate IT" to form vent passages, the purpose for which will appear more clearly hereinafter. Above the plate I1 is an inlet insulating plate I9 having a configuration more 5 clearly shown in Fig. 5. The plate I9 has a portion removed therefrom which is of larger diameter than the portion I6 of either plates IE5 or IV, the purpose for which will appear more clearly hereinafter. Above the plate IE1 is a plate I5, above which is a second plate I'I'. The plates then repeat in the foregoing manner to the top of the piston chamber I2.

Operative within the piston chamber I2 is a piston member I I carrying a movable contact It and also carrying a plurality of plates 2 I, alternate plates of which are notched as at 22 to thereby form a plurality of surface irregularities axially along the piston member I I.

The movable contact Ii! cooperates with a stationary contact 23 disposed at one side of the piston chamber I2.

During downward or opening movement of the conducting rod 6, the piston member II enters the piston chamber I2 to cause a displace- I3 extending therethrough through.

ment of fluid into a channel 24 formed along a wall of the piston chamber I2. The fluid passes through a plurality of pairs of inlet passages toward the are 26 drawn between the stationary contact 23 and the movable contact iii. After strikin the are 26, the fluid, in this instance liquid, passes through orifice openings formed between the stationary plates and the moving piston II, and then exhausts out of the unit 5 through the vent passages I23.

Consequently, during the opening operation the are 26 is; subjected to a flow of oil at a plurality of points along its length. This oil flow is caused by the piston action of the piston member II moving into the piston chamber I2. After the oil passes through the inlet passages 25, striking the are it passes vertically upward and downward through orifice openings and then out vent passages I 8 alternately positioned between adiacent inlet passages 25. Extinction of the are 25 soon follows, and continued downward movement of the piston member II causes a flushing flow of oil to pass through the inlet passages 25 and out the vent passages I8.

Certain features of the construction relating to the inlet, orifice, and vent passages are described and claimed in a patent application Serial No. 465,244, filed November 11, 1942, now U. S. Patent 2,406,469, issued August 27, 1946, by Leon R. Ludwig, Winthrop M. Leeds and Benjamin P. Baker and assigned to the assignee of the instant application.

In the modified type of arc extinguishing unit 28' shown in Figs. 7 through 12, it will be observed that the vent passages 29 are formed by removing a portion from the vent insulating plates 3% more clearly shown in Fig. 9. Portions 3! are also removed from the vent plates 36, the purpose for which will appear more clearly hereinafter. The configuration of the inlet insulating plates 32 is more clearly shown in Fig. 10, the inlet passages 25' being formed by the removal of a suitable por tion from the plate 32'. The bottom insulating plate of the piston chamber !2 is designated by the reference numeral 33 and is more clearly shown in Fig. 12. Itwill be observed that the portion 3! of plate, 353 communicates b a passage 34 to the region 35 within the plate 33, the purpose for which will appear more clearly hereinafter.

Positioned-between adjacent vent plates and inlet plates 32 are insulating orifice plates 36 havin a configuration more clearly shown in Fig. 11. The orifice plate 36 has portions 3i removed therefrom.

The piston chamber I2 is formed. by the assembling of the foregoing plates. It will be observed that an orifice. plate 36 is positioned between each vent plate 38 and each inlet plate 32 down to the bottom of the piston chamber I2, at the end of which is positioned the plate 33. As. in, the unit. 5 of Fig. 3, three plates I4 are provided. to close the. piston, chamber I2.

The, operation ofv the modified. type of unit 28 will now be described. Upon downward movement, of the contact Ill and piston member I I into the piston chamber I2, an are 25 is established between the. stationary contact 23 and the movable contact IO. The piston action of. the piston member II forces oil to fiow from, the region 31 through the passages 34 provided by the plate 33 and into. the two vertically extending passages 38 formed by the alignment of the portions 3| of the several. plates. The inlet passages. 25 have one end thereof communicating with the passages 38 and have their other ends disposed substantially opposite each other to direct jets of oil toward the interrupting arc 26. After the oil has contacted the interrupting are, it passes out of the unit 28 through the vent passages 29 provided by the vent plates 30. As in the embodiment of my invention described in Fig. 3, surface irregularities are provided on the piston member I! by notching the plates 2! at 22.

It will be observed that the foregoing interrupting structure with onl one pair of contacts in each unit is very compact as compared with the commercial structure embodying the inlet and vent passages as described in the aforesaid Patent 2,406,469 which utilizes both interrupting and pressure generating contacts in each unit.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that I have provided contact means for establishing an arc and piston means for actuating the contact means to the open circuit position.

Also it will be noted that I have utilized the piston means for forcin fluid th ough a plurality of inlet passages leading toward the arc and permitting the exhausting awa of fluid from the are through a plurality of vent passages. This results in improved arc interrupting ability as compared with a construction using a single fluid inlet for the whole length of the arc. Also the piston means gives better low current arc rupturing action than is obtained in devices utilizing series-connected pressure-generating arcs.

Although I have shown and described specific structures, it is to be clearly understood that the same were merely for the purpose of illustration. and that changes and modifications may readily be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirt and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a circuit interrupter, means forming piston chamber, a piston member movable within the piston chamber, a movable contact carried by the piston member, a stationary contact dis posed at one side of the piston chamber and cooperable with the movable contact to establish an arc, the first-mentioned means having pass as formed therein to direct a plurality of pairs of jets of fluid into the arc, each pair consisting of two opposed jets and the pairs being disposed at spaced intervals along the axial length of the are.

2-. In a circuit interrupter, means forming a piston chamber, a piston member movable within the piston chamber, a movable contact carried by the piston member, a stationary contact disposed at one side of the piston chamber and cooperable with the movable contact to establish an arc, said first-mentioned means forming a plurality of pairs of inlet passages leading toward the arc at spaced intervals along the length' thereof, each pair permitting two opposed jets of fluid to strike the arc, and said means also forming a plurality of vent passages at intermediate levels leading awa from the are.

3. In a circuit interrupter, means forming a piston chamber, a piston member movable within the piston chamber, a movable contact carried by the piston member, a stationary contact disposed at one side of the piston chamber and cooperable with the movable contact to establish an arc, the first-mentioned means having passages formed therein to direct a plurality of pairs of jets of fluid into the arc, each pair consisting of two opposed jets and the pairs being disposed at spaced intervals along the axial length of the are, the first-mentioned means also forming a plurality of venting passages disposed at intermediate levels along the axial length of the arc, and said means in addition providing orifice openings between adjacently positioned inlet and vent passages.

4. In a circuit interrupter, plate means of insulating material forming a piston chamber, a piston member movable within the piston cham-. ber, a movable contact carried by the piston memher, a stationary contact disposed at one side of the piston chamber and cooper-able with the movable contact to establish an arc, certain plates forming a plurality of pairs of inlet passages leading toward the are at spaced intervals along the length thereof, each pair permitting two opposed jets of fluid to strike the arc, and other plates forming a plurality of vent passages leading away from the are at intermediate intervals, the piston action of the piston member movable within the piston chamber forcing fluid through the inlet passages toward the arc.

5. In a circuit interrupter, contact means for establishing an arc, piston means for actuating the contact means to the open circuit position, means forming a plurality of pairs of inlet passages leading toward the arc at spaced intervals along the length thereof, each pair permitting two opposed jets of fluid to strike the arc, and the piston means forcing fluid through the plurality of inlet passages toward the arc.

6. In a circuit interrupter, contact means for establishing an arc, piston means for actuating the contact means to the open circuit position, plate means of insulating material forming a plurality of pairs of inlet passages leading toward the are at spaced intervals along the length thereof, each pair permitting two opposed jets of fluid to strike the arc, the piston means forcing fluid through the plurality of inlet passages toward the arc, and plate means of insulating material forming a plurality of vent passages leading awa from the are at intermediate intervals.

7. In a circuit interrupter of the liquid break type, means forming a piston chamber, a sta tionary contact disposed adjacent one side of the piston chamber, a piston member carrying a movable contact movable within the piston chambe. the separation of the movable contact from the stationary contact establishing an arc longitudinally of the piston member between the latter and the piston chamber, the piston chamber having two passages formed in the walls thereof communicating at one end with the bottom of the piston chamber, and the piston chamber having a plurality of pairs of inlet passages formed therein at spaced intervals therealong communicating with the aforesaid two passages at one end and opposing one another at the other end to direct jets of fluid toward each other into the arc to effect the extinction thereof.

8. In a circuit interrupter of the liquid break type, means forming a piston chamber, a stationary contact disposed adjacent one side of the piston chamber, a piston member carrying a movable contact movable within the piston chamber, the separation of the movable contact from the stationary contact establishing an arc longitudinally of the piston member between the latter and the piston chamber, the piston chamber having a recess extending axially thereof and forming a pressure chamber, and the piston chamber having a plurality of pairs of inlet passages formed therein at spaced intervals therealong communicating at one end with the pressure chamber, each pair of inlet passages opposingeach other at their other ends to direct jets of fluid toward each other into the arc to effect the extinction thereof.

9. In a circuit interrupter of the liquid break type, means forming a piston chamber, a stationary contact disposed adjacent one side of the piston chamber, a piston member carrying a movable contact movable within the piston chamber, the separation of the movable contact from the stationary contact establishing an arc lonigtudinally of the piston member between the latter and the piston chamber, the piston chamber having two passages formed in the walls thereof corn.- municating at one end with the bottom of the piston chamber, the piston chamber having a plurality of pairs of inlet passages formed therein at spaced intervals therealong communicating with the aforesaid two passages at one end and opposing one another at the other end to direct jets of fluid toward each other into the are to effect the extinction thereof, and a plurality of vent passages formed in the walls of the piston chamber alternately disposed between the pairs of inlet passages.

10. In a circuit interrupter of the liquid break type, means forming a piston chamber, a sta tionary contact disposed adjacent one side of the piston chamber, a piston member carrying a movable contact movable within the piston chamber, the separation of the movable contact from the stationary contact establishing an arc longitudinally of the piston member between the latter and the piston chamber, the piston chamber having a recess extending axially thereof and forming a pressure chamber, the piston chamber having a plurality of pairs of inlet passages formed therein at spaced intervals therealong communicating at one end with the pressure chamber, each pair of inlet passages opposing each other at their other ends to direct jets of fluid toward each other into the are to effect the extinction thereof, and a plurality of pairs of vent passages formed in the walls of the piston chamber, each pair of vent passages being disposed between adjacent pairs of inlet passages.

11. In a circuit interrupter of the liquid break; type, means forming a piston chamber, a stationary contact disposed adjacent one side of the piston chamber, a piston member carrying a movable contact movable within the piston chamber, the separation of the movable contact from the stationary contact establishing an arc longitudinally of the piston member between the latter and the piston chamber, the piston chamber having two passages formed in the walls thereof communicating at one end with the bottom of the piston chamber, the piston chamber having a plurality of pairs of inlet passages formed therein atspaced intervals therealong communicating with the aforesaid two passages at one end and opposing one another at the other end to direct jets of fluid toward each other into the arc to effect the extinction thereof, and the piston member having a plurality of surface irregularities formed thereon.

12. In a circuit interrupter of the liquid break type, means forming a piston chamber, a stationary contact disposed adjacent one side of the piston chamber, a piston member carrying a movable contact movable within the piston chamber, the separation of the movable contact from the stationary contact establishing an arc longitudinally of the piston member between the latter and the piston chamber, the piston chamber having a recess extending axially thereof and forming a pressure chamber, the piston chamber having a plurality of pairs of inlet passages formed therein at spaced intervals along the length thereof communicating at one end with the pressure chamber, each pair of inlet passages opposin each other at their other ends to direct jets of fluid toward each other into the arc to effect the extinction thereof, and the piston member having a plurality of surface irregularities formed thereon.

WINTHROP M. LEEDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,111,416 Balachowsky Mar. 15, 1938 2,093,250 Ronnberg Sept. 14, 1937 2,196,419 Leeds et a1 Apr. 9, 1940 

